Lanny Poffo
While Lanny never attained the popularity of his brother ("Macho Man" Randy Savage) in the WWF, he still managed to find a niche for himself as a minor fan favorite. As Leaping Lanny Poffo he would bring frisbees to the ring, read a short ode written on one of them that he himself had penned, and throw the frisbees into the crowd. Each poem typically ridiculed the heel that he was about to wrestle against, or angered the heel by building heat for the face that the heel was feuding with at the time. Despite wrestling primarily as a jobber on television, he was usually allowed to get in a fair amount of offense in his matches, and won some matches on occasion. He found greater success on house shows, where he attained a good number of victories over other undercard wrestlers. Poffo wrestled a high-flyer style at a time when big, heavy wrestlers still dominated the promotion. He was one of the first wrestlers in North America to utilize such moves as the Senton Bomb and the moonsault in their arsenal, though the announcers referred to it at the time as a "leaping backflip". He made some publicity in late 1986 and early 1987 by competing in a series of Bunkhouse Battle Royals in full knight's armor, though he was eliminated quickly. He also is noted for competing in a Battle Royal on Saturday Night's Main Event in 1987, where he was headbutted and eliminated by André the Giant, causing him to bleed immensely all over the floor. He was carried out by a stretcher. In April 1989, Poffo was re-introduced as The Genius, adopting a highly intelligent, snooty persona and wearing an academic cap and gown to the ring. He officially turned heel at the Boston Garden on March 18, 1989. Still known as Leaping Lanny, he berated Hulk Hogan and stuck up for Randy Savage in his poem. This was a mere two weeks before WrestleMania V. His poems now ridiculed the face wrestlers, and he now behaved in an even more effeminate manner to infuriate the crowd. During the match, the Genius would construct a mathematical equation that would tilt the balance of the match in his favor. In addition, the Genius also served as "executive consultant" (and occasional tag team partner) for Mr. Perfect. On the November 25, 1989 edition of WWF Saturday Night's Main Event, The Genius beat WWF Champion Hulk Hogan by countout due to Mr. Perfect hitting Hogan with the championship belt. Later in the show, Mr. Perfect and Poffo took a hammer to the belt, shattering it to pieces. Shortly after WrestleMania VI, Bobby Heenan became Mr. Perfect's manager. Poffo then became an occasional undercard wrestler until fall of 1991 when he became the manager of the Beverly Brothers. He would leave the WWF shortly after Survivor Series 1992. After a nineteen month absence, Poffo returned in May 1994 and defeated Koko B Ware on two house shows in Florida. His final WWF match was a loss to Mabel on June 11 at an event in Richmond, VA. On March 28, 2015 Poffo returned to the WWE at the 2015 Hall of Fame induction ceremony to induct his late brother Randy Savage. Poffo read poems and shared memories about his brother's past. The next day, Poffo shared the stage with the 2015 Hall of Famers at Wrestlemania, representing his brother. Category:Current Alumni Category:Managers